Rockport Insurance

The Lost Coast

The day had finally come to climb the Lost Coast. Immediately after being stationed back in Northern California I traded in my BMW 1100 RT for a 2008 KLR 650. What better way for an inaugural ride? After several years of "hotel" I was touring my transition to "pack it light, freeze at night" mode of travel. The conditions Usal Road and Lost Coast road was a stranger. The winter months of 2008 had seen a lot of rain on the north coast near Eureka, California, and my research indicated that the roads may be impassable when wet. Would the KLR be able to conquer this place of King and Wilderness Sinkyone thrown our way to the end of March? To hedge my bets I made two clips motorcycle straps which can double straps tow. My riding partner for this trip would be a college roommate of 19 years. Glenn had called the day before with an enigmatic "I bought something that will handle anything the road will throw at us." Encrypted messages are usually never good. Maybe the extra space of the straps have been insurance cheap. Wherever we go Triple A would fear to tread.

Sunday morning start was delayed until 3:00 pm due to commitments Easter. The afternoon came and went. I received a call from Glenn that his new mystery machine would not start. Certainly, a harbinger of darker things to come. The afternoon passed and turned to 5:00 pm 7:00 pm. Glenn limped in Rohnert Park, CA around 8:30 pm, cold, lost, but armed with an appetite and an attitude just as warm and optimistic, definitely the kind of partner and attitude you need when s 'venture into the unknown. The mystery machine that took the form of a KLR 1985 600! The museum piece was $ 800.00 a flight until the bike difficult start continued to flood the aftermarket carburetor two strokes and killed the battery (it was time to fly-term, but only say that alleged victim was). Ever resilient, Glenn solved the problem on Sunday and moved ahead of Sacramento to Sonoma County. My mother was too happy to feed the weary road warrior with a home cooked meal. We changed the game plan tonight and decided not to ride the Trinity Heritage National Scenic (also known as Highway 299 / 3) and the Bigfoot Scenic Byway (Highway 96) at the loop Eureka. The bikes were prepared and ready, despite a small incident with my newly purchased ride. I realized that I should not have procrastinated in buying a center stand. By completing the tires early in the day cycling fell more as I pushed on the rods with a little too much force. To the credit of the KLR, the new radiator shrouds plastic withstood the tip and the most "bug" (as my daughter calls it) has returned with only two small scratches.

The next morning we headed north on Highway 101 in the cold at the beginning of Northern California, the extremes of the spectrum KLR beating in harmony. At 8:30, we decided to shoot in Cloverdale and have a quick bite at the local McDonalds. An old timer has an interest in our trip and told us how he used to run his Harley Davidson against the British invasion back in 1949 BSA but lost to the lighter, faster bike when he was Cross Country Racing. More coffee talk turned to the younger days. We shared our experience in the cavalry (Glenn pilot in the Air Cav, I scout land, and donated a year of sixteen Horse Rider back in 1938). Shortly after its days of horse cavalry Grant prowled the South China Sea. His new car is the USS Snapper, a 1928's era that made Manila Harbor before the fall of the Philippines. He wanted to join us on our trip motorcycle, but his knee was in a few days. All the adventure we were going to meet her experience pales depth charges during the war. We thanked him for his sacrifice and service to the country as we headed north-west.

The fact that bike.